TORONTO — Dozens of Canada Post workers gathered outside a delivery centre in east Toronto reacted with a mixture of frustration, disappointment and hope on Friday morning as Ottawa announced it was moving to end their nearly month-long work stoppage.
After nearly a month on the picket lines, some striking employees in yellow jackets were glued to their phones to find out the details of the announcement, which affects some 55,000 workers.
Others were discussing the development as they stood around a fire they had set up to keep warm in below-zero temperatures.
Postal worker Kirk Gonnsen said while he was disappointed that a deal on a new collective agreement couldn't be reached, he was happy that those struggling to pay bills and rent would soon be bringing home a paycheque.
"I think it is unfortunate that this is the resolution that we came to," he said.
"But I am happy that people, my colleagues who are suffering ... are going to be able to go back to work and earn some money."
Speaking at a press conference in Ottawa, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said the Crown corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers were at an "impasse" that impelled the federal government to intervene.
MacKinnon said he was asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order workers to return to work and extend their current contract until next May, if an agreement can't be reached by the end of this year.
He announced an inquiry would probe why negotiations between the two parties failed and what can be done to make a new deal possible.
Gonnsen said he has no option but to be optimistic about the inquiry. For "my own emotional stability," he said, "you have to hope that a good resolution is going to come out (of) this."
The union, which began the work stoppage on Nov. 15, denounced Ottawa's decision and called it an "assault" on workers’ rights.
Workers outside the facility in Toronto's east end said they don't believe Canada Post has been negotiating in good faith, an accusation the corporation has denied.
Helen Karrandjas, another union member, said she was "disappointed" to see employees ordered to get back to work before getting a fair deal.
"We work hard. We deserve a living wage, and it looks like Canada Post's upper management is not willing to negotiate," she said.
The launch of an inquiry is an interesting move, said fellow union member Gerard Van Deelen.
"Now we are going to have a commission and then back to negotiations," he said.
"I can only hope the commission finds something out about management unwillingness to budge an inch."
Denise Caster, another worker, said she and her colleagues always wanted to get back to work, but they were hoping they could do so after getting a deal.
"All they want to do is (to) take away from us. They are claiming that, you know, we are being greedy and that we want too much. We only want what is fair," she said.
"I guess we will have to wait until May to see what is going to happen with that."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2024.
Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press
